Plaga Corvus

i had a dream where i watched a video of some animal happily running through puddles, and the cameraman was cheering. i looked closer - it had the fluffy body of a dog and two chicken heads. i went online, and it turned out that such an animal really exists, and everyone loves it. there were even videos on youtube like "comparing a cluckwoof to all the animals in the world" or "all the pros of cluckwoofs existing: NO CONS".

More Horror venti content :D

Dark Teyvat - Shadows of Phanes, page 4/4 "But when you decided to leave this world… An unknown deity stood in your way?" — Paimon about Asmodeus

The most arrogant of all the shadows. She ensures that no traveler from distant planets leaves the confines of Teyvat. And those who dare to pull such a trick will face inevitable and painful punishment.

She played an active role in the Kaenria cataclysm. Along with Ronova, Asmodeus wiped the inhabitants of the defunct state from the face of Teyvat. Don't you remember what Kaenria is? It was her doing. After all, even memory is weak in the abode of the goddess of space. Perhaps you should turn around right now. She's closer than you think…

The other shadows wonder, "Why doesn't the goddess of Space come to the meetings?" The answer is simple: she's simply bored… She considers the other shadows too devoted to Fanet, and devotion takes too much of her strength. Asmodeus decided not to waste her potential and serve the one who hasn't appeared in person for a long time.

Dark Teyvat

I'm sure there've been others who already did rambling analyses lol but I'm still gonna ramble anyway because I have thoughts-

(also note that I'm not fully caught up on all Genshin lore yet and I last left off on 4.6 content or something asldkfjasdklj)

First of all I love how Traveller is drawn, clearly worn down from their adventures in Teyvat with visible cuts/scars, worn clothing, a tired look on their face, etc. This is closer to how I think they would actually look in canon, maybe not with the loss of light in their eyes (obviously it makes sense in this au context though) but after all they've been through so far in the actual game and missing their sibling, I think the journey would've definitely left some marks on them even though they've been to so many other worlds before this. Also the addition of spikes to the shoulder plates is really cool and makes Aether's top in particular look more like armor. I also saw someone else point this out, but Paimon is noticably colored much brighter than everyone else here which gives her a whole different vibe. It's really interesting because, considering certain lore and all those theories about Paimon being one of the most important characters in the game as well as likely having memory loss at some point (idk if this still applies in this au), it makes a lot of sense. If she is like a divine being of some sort, I see it as maybe representing the fact that she hasn't been corrupted like the archons or something like that.

Onto the archons and their nations themselves, everything is so twisted and I love it. Just as the archons have become corrupted, cursed, or infected, their nations have been affected by it as well and turned their ideals on the head.

Mondstadt, which should be the land of freedom, is totalitarian. Unlike the Barbatos/Venti in the game, this one forces people to live a certain way and "worship" him. It's also interesting how his ability to use and hear through the wind is used here; he uses it manipulatively. His reach across Teyvat and his ability to affect others from far away because he is a wind spirit plays well into this, and also my own personal theory that canonically he is not as "weak" as he says he is. I also find it interesting how out of all the archon/god designs here, Venti's/Barbatos is most similar to his canon design.

I love how the ideal/concept of contracts is used for this version of Liyue, just how intense and binding they really are here. Instead of being a land of prosperity like how it is in the game, rich with culture and commerce, this Liyue uses povety and debt as a way to gain "wealth". The part about child sacrifice definitely reminds me of just how dark Liyue lore actually is because that is really true to some of its actual history canonically. And like Barbatos, this Morax demands offerings rather than letting his people be free to choose how they want to live and revere him. "His divine path is strewn with the bodies of his former allies." This is a great line because it applies to both canon and the au in completely different ways. In canon, his past is filled with war and loss, both those caused by him and done to or around him. Despite this, he is mostly respected and seems to be good-hearted with genuine care for his nation. On the other hand, this version of Morax doesn't truly care for his people, and even goes as far as killing them just because they can't keep up the end of their contracts, which I assume they didn't even want to sign in the first place. His design here pulls off the vibe of his character really well, and are those bodies hanging off his horns/antlers? The visuals are immaculate and it's so creative how his humanoid and dragon forms are combined here.

It's scary how, in an even darker and twisted way, this version of Inazuma is very similar to the canon Inazuma. Just like in canon, the deserprate attempt to keep everything "eternal" results in death, destruction, and a stifling of true progress or paradise. Watatsumi Island being the one place of resistance and life is so good, and I like its role here a lot. Watatsumi Island and the whole resistance arc had so much potential in the game that I feel like was very rushed and so much more could've been done with it, and I like the twist on it in this version. The Shogun (here, being Baal-Zebul) being a combination of both Ei and Makoto (Beelzebul and Baal) as conjoined twins is such a horrifying and amazing concept that fits right in with the nation. I like how it looks like half of the body is already dead/rotting away and the other half is still alive and in control, mirroring the state of the land and its people, as well as the canon where Makoto is dead and Ei desperately tries to uphold her idea of "eternity" because of how much the loss of her twin devastated her, and in turn harming everyone when she thought it was what must be done. The concept of puppets/dolls being very important in Inazuma lore and culture fits perfectly here; everyone is puppeteered even after they're dead, even the archon herself.

I'm actually struggling to come up with words for Sumeru. This takes the canon so accurately once again, and twists it hard. The implementation of the disappearances, the social hierarchy, the distortion of the views and system of the Akademiya, Nahida/Buer's abilities and trappedness, it's all so accurate yet also goes deeper than how it plays out in the story. Honestly this version of Sumeru is a bit more similar to how I imagined it was going to be in the game. Sumeru didn't disappoint at all for me, but I like this even darker take on it. The corruption of Buer here is intriguing; instead of acknowleding that forbidden knowledge should be avoided lest the rest of Teyvat will be negatively affected, she actively gives it out to others just so she herself can be freed. Unlike in the canon story, it is her who is responsible for the people's corruption and not just the social systems and those in high positions. As for the design, Rukkhadevata being the tree and Nahida/Buer's design taking inspiration from Hindu gods is great symbolism, and I love the binary codes in the background as it reflects the way that Irminsul is similar to a computer database. I have a feeling the specific codes used here probably have a meaning as well, though I'm too lazy to translate them right now XD

Maybe I'm biased because Fontaine is my favorite arc of the game so far, but wow this twist on it is so dang good. The justice system is corrupted just like in canon, but instead of sacrificing herself, this Focalors sacrifices everyone else and believes that everyone truly is a "sinner". The people are still ignorant, and the flood is still inevitable. Also, the Fortress of Meropede in this version fits the vision I had for it in my head more than the canon version. I'm in love with the twist here so so much, that Focalors is the first to be cursed even though she wanted to "avoid the fate of the other gods", and in a way that makes a lot of sense as she seperated her humanity from herself, in the literal sense, but also playing into the symbolism of it. Instead of "enjoying" the trials, the Furina here "enjoys" the executions, but it is only because she is forced to, just like in canon where she watches every trial in hopes that she would finally be let go of her torturous role as the "archon", waiting for the "trial to end all trials" to finally take place. I am curious what Neuvillette's role would be in this version of Fontaine. His eye is shown in this design in his dragon form, maybe observing Focalors and all of Fontaine, which is such a cool mirror to the canon where Focalors is behind the scenes and Neuvillette is the face to the public alongside Furina. It looks like Focalors' design is inspired by the fact that oceanid souls can converge in water. And just like in canon, it seems like Furina just can't get out of suffering. :'D She is a human, yet kept together by mechs because alone she would not be able to withstand all this torture and years of "living". The water drop symbol on Focalors is also notably red here, not blue or white. That probably represents the bloodshed and sacrifices of the people of Fontaine, and death in general.

Since I haven't gotten to Natlan in the game's story yet, I don't have as much to say yet in regards to connecting this au's details to the canon for Natlan and beyond, but there are still a lot of things I find fascinating.

The art for Natlan's archon is the most intense in my opinion, which makes sense as this is the nation of war. The style resembles that of ancient Aztec art (I think, please correct me if I'm wrong), fitting in with some Aztec rituals involving human sacrifice, and the skulls or bodies of certain warriors and sacrificial victims being displayed.

I really can't wait to get to Nod-Krai to see what everything's about, but also to see how this au twisted it. From the few spoilers I've heard, Nod-Krai is kind of part of Snezhnaya but also it's own seperate thing? I think I see how that was implemented here, being a place that no one can find unless they have been deemed a criminal. And I absolutely love this Columbina. I have heard a few things about canon Columbina and how so far she doesn't fit what the common fanon was/is of her being a horrifying elderitch being (sort of similar to popular depictions of beings similar to "Biblically accurate" angels) who seems kind/gentle on the surface (having two very contrasting faces/sides), but this version definitely fits the idea I had/have in mind for her character. I also heard she has something to do with the three moon sisters, which I'm guessing is where the three heads come from for the alternate design.

Columbina's transformation

I am more than 3 moons. Every night you stare at the moon, I stare back, you're nothing but a molecule against the god.

Dark Teyvat - Phanes Shadows, page 1/4

"I saw her… the goddess of wind and time. She is not as described in the odes… This creature aroused fear in me… that very human fear of the inevitability of time…"

She does not control time—she is time in all its possible manifestations.

She is the wind, she is the thread between beginning and end. She is the eternal accountant.

Compared to the other Shadows of Fanet, Astaroth is calmer, one might even say indifferent in a way. She has nowhere to rush, for ultimately, all of Teyvat flows according to her temporal laws.

She was sung about in the Mondstadt and Enkanomiya, with sacrifices being made to her. Children born with the mark of "Thoratsa" (blind) were offered to Astaroth as a gift from those who worshiped her.

Her hair is a river of time, and her face counts down a long, eternal time. Other Shadows of Fanet pray that one day… Astaroth's clock will not strike its final stroke.

If a traveler is "lucky" enough to see Astaroth… it is a death sentence. Among the Old Believers of Mondstadt, rumors circulate that one day… A monk who worshiped Astaroth saw her herself reflected in the water's surface. The goddess was disappointed by the monk's insolence, so she knocked off part of his predestined lifespan, and he died a week after the sight, blind.

"The only one who never left us was the Lady of Time.

She is the ceaseless flow of time, she is the generosity of a thousand sunrises and sunsets, the formation of the moon and sun. She is moments of joy and fury, points and obsessions.